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27 January 2010 Honduras
Porfirio Lobo Sosa was sworn in as President. Shortly afterwards, former President Manuel Zelaya Rosales was flown to the Dominican Republic, in accordance with an agreement for his safe passage signed on 20 January by Lobo (as President-elect) and that country’s President, Leonel Fernández Reyna. Zelaya had been forced into exile in June 2009, having been charged with 18 criminal and political offences, including treason and abuse of authority, but had taken refuge in the Brazilian embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa, following his clandestine return to Honduras in September.
26 January 2010 Sri Lanka
At a presidential election, the incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse was returned to office, having, as the candidate of the United People’s Freedom Alliance, secured a decisive 57.9% of the votes cast (according to provisional results). The rate of participation by voters was put at some 70% of the eligible electorate. The President’s principal rival, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, who won 40.2% as the representative of the recently formed New Democratic Front, rejected the validity of the outcome, citing, inter alia, what he alleged was the misuse of state resources in Rajapakse’s campaign.
14 January 2010 Tunisia
President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali effected a major reorganization of the Government. Kamel Morjane (hitherto Minister of National Defence) was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and was in turn replaced by Ridha Grira. Lazhar Bououni became Minister of Justice and Human Rights. Among the other notable appointees were Muhammad Ridha Chalghoum, who joined the Government as Minister of Finance, and Slim Tletli, who was allocated the tourism portfolio. Meanwhile, the responsibilities of the former ministries of Education and Training, Employment and Professional Integration of Youth, Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology, and Industry, Energy and Small and Medium Enterprises were redistributed: Hatem Ben Salem became Minister of Education; Muhammad Agrebi Minister of Professional Training and Employment; Béchir Tekkari Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; and Atif Chelbi Minister of Industry and Technology.
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12 January 2010 Haiti
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Haiti, its epicentre just 17 km south-west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. More than 150,000 people were estimated to have been killed in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, with many more injured, displaced or unaccounted for, while damage to buildings, critical services and other infrastructure was severe and extensive. Although the international humanitarian response was swift, logistical and security difficulties severely impeded any co-ordinated relief effort and the effective distribution of humanitarian supplies in the days following the earthquake. On 15 January the UN issued a Flash Appeal for US $562m., intended to assist an estimated 3m. affected people over a period of six months: one-half of this amount was to be assigned to the provision of emergency food aid, with the remainder being designated for health, water, sanitation, nutrition, early recovery, emergency education and other primary needs. UN Security Council Resolution 1908, adopted unanimously on 19 January, authorized the deployment to Haiti of an additional 2,000 military personnel and 1,500 police officers, to supplement the existing 9,000-strong peace-keeping force. As part of the international plan to support Haiti, on 27 January the IMF announced the immediate disbursement of $102m. in new emergency funding, on highly concessionary terms, to assist the Government in resuming essential imports and restoring basic financial services.
10 January 2010 Croatia
Ivo Josipović, the candidate of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP), was elected President at the second round of polling. He obtained 60.3% of the votes cast in the run-off ballot, to defeat Milan Bandić, the Mayor of Zagreb, who contested the election as an independent candidate, having been expelled from the SDP in November 2009. (At the first round, conducted on 27 December, Josipović had won 32.4% of votes cast, and Bandić 14.8%). Josipović was scheduled to assume office on 18 February 2010. The outgoing President, Stjepan Mesić, was ineligible to seek re-election, having served the maximum permitted two five-year terms.
4 January 2010 Morocco
King Muhammad VI appointed five new ministers to the Cabinet. Taïb Cherkaoui (hitherto First President of the Supreme Court) replaced Chakib Benmoussa as Minister of the Interior, while Muhammad Naciri became Minister of Justice, in place of Abdelwahad Radi of the Union socialiste des forces populaires (USFP). Yassir Znagui assumed responsibility for the tourism and handicrafts portfolio, previously held by Muhammad Boussaid. Driss Lachguer, of the USFP, joined the Government as Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament, following the appointment of Istiqlal’s Muhammad Saâd Alami as Minister-delegate to the Prime Minister, in charge of the Modernization of the Public Sector.
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